Thursday, July 23, 2009

Mr. Perfect: Mark Buehrle

Wow. Just wow. This guy has got to be one of the most underrated pitchers not just this decade but EVER. Today, with a teeny bit of help from Dewayne Wise, Mark Buehrle vaulted himself into legendary status. He's dominated the AL Central for the past decade and belongs in a White Sox uniform.

I'll be honest, the White Sox are not one of my favorite teams, but watching Buehrle work his magic today had me mesmerized. No one can take anything away from Mr. Perfect today. Yeah, sure Wise robbed that HR, but that is just what happens when things are going your way. The ball finds its way into gloves, foul territory, the catchers mitt, etc. And the amazing thing, is that the ball goes nowhere else during a perfect game. That is what makes it "perfect". Baseball is the most imperfect sport in the world. We put guys in the Hall of Fame who fail 7 out of 10 times at the plate. That is what makes the perfect game so special. A bit of perfection in a non-perfect game.

If I had a vote, Mark Buehrle would be a first ballot Hall of Famer in my mind. He's got a chance to win 300 games. But even if he doesn't do that, I still think a guy with two no-hitters/one perfect game on his resume absolutely deserves to be among the game's elite.